Transcription of an extract from ‘Tirey’ in ‘The Rev. Dr. John Walker’s Report on the Hebrides of 1764 and 1771’ edited by Margaret M. MacKay.
Courtesy of John Donald Publishers
The Rev Dr John Walker, minister of Moffat and a pioneer of scientific botany and geology, was sent to the Hebrides in 1764 and 1771 by the Commission for Annexed Estates to report on the social conditions, population and the state of manufacture, agriculture and fisheries.
He found the waters round Tiree teeming with fish but no fishing equipment on the island. In 1792, Rev Archibald McColl lamented that the local fishermen seemed unable to compete with those from other islands or the east coast who were taking full advantage of the nearby fishing banks.
The reasons for this he attributed to the daily involvement of crofters with their land and animals and to their poverty which disinclined them to risk what little savings they had purchasing equipment easily lost in bad weather.
Audio cassette recording of Margaret MacDonald of Cornaigmore talking to Maggie Campbell in 2000.
Margaret MacDonald talks to Maggie Campbell in 2000 about buying ‘An Airigh’ in Cornaigmore in 1962 and using it as a holiday house until they took up permanent residence in 1981, the changes she’s seen in the shops, self-sufficiency, and crofting practices; Margaret also talks about how children today have less love of nature, how Mrs Campbell of Garaphail kept the Sabbath, the neighbouring croft that once belonged to novelist Alistair Maclean’s family and how milk was retailed in lemonade bottles.
Audio cassette recording of Archie John MacLean, Heylipol talking to Maggie Campbell in 2000.
Archie John MacLean of Heylipol talks to Maggie Campbell in 2000 about the changes in crofting especially the decline in cultivation, the work done at different times of the year, fertilisers and machinery, problems with geese, cattle breeding, BSE, the need for conservation, sheep breeding, the six farms on Tiree, dipping sheep and the associated problems, transporting animals, subsidies and quotas.
Audio cassette recording of Jean MacCallum, Balevullin talking to Maggie Campbell in 2000.
(Continued from AC238) Jean MacCallum of Balevullin talks to Maggie Campbell in 2000 about pilgrims preaching in Balevullin School and about going to church, the names and location of various rocks and cliffs near Balevullin, carrageen and fishing, how crofting now is not as close to nature, Easter and the different moons, potatoes and crops that used to be grown, natural fertilisers, the faster pace of life now, Cattle Shows, Clydesdale horses and knitting.
